High school basketball tournments move into a new phase during the holiday break and tradition determines destination for many teams. DeKalb and Pontiac High Schools are host to the two oldest tournaments in the State. See a listing on page 10. This year the tournaments follow big rivalry games played last week and this week. It is West Aurora and East Aurora; Oswego and Oswego East; Geneva and Batavia; St. Charles East and St. Charles North; Wheaton Warrenville South and Wheaton North; Elgin and Larkin; Plainfield Central and Plainfield North. That is just this week. Last week was a preview.
In Aurora it is West at East. Hopes ride high. West Aurora head coach Brian Johnson: “Traevon Brown has been a constant for us throughout the season. Marquise Walker and Traevon have done a great job of handling the ball for us. They both have been dynamic leaders. Hezekiah Salter has done an excellent job on the glass all season. Moshe Rogers has been steady on both ends of the floor. Kelvin Balfour has had a very strong season, as well. He constantly guards the opponents’ top perimeter player and has been hard to stop in the paint.”
Walker has averaged 17.1 points per game and 3.0 assists per game. Salter has averaged 9.1 rebounds and Brown 2.2 steals each game.
East Aurora head coach Rick Robinson has seen growth and improvement. “Jules Williamson is averaging 28 points and eight rebounds and he is a four-year starter,” Robinson said. “Josh Pryor has averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds and is a three-year varsity player and my freshman Jullian Acosta is averaging eight points and four rebounds. The difference in the Glenbard East game (a 74-65 victory Friday) was Amarion Savage who came off the bench and scored eight points and hit a big three-point shot. He played very good defense and got a couple steals at a crucial time. It was his first game of the year.”
• Wrestling tournaments in high school during the Christmas holidays have been a part of landscape, as well as high school basketball. Here is a list of meets, dates, and teams. Click here for a list of boys and girls basketball:
Marmion Super Duals, Dec. 22 St. Charles East;
Glenbard South Inv, Dec. 22;
Harlem Dvorak, Dec. 22-23, Addison Trail, Glenbard North, Metea Valley, Wheaton North;
Palatine Berman, Dec. 27: Oswego East, Lake Park;
DeKalb Flavin, Dec. 28-29: Glenbard East, Glenbard West, Naperville Central, Naperville North, St. Charles E.,Yorkville;
Granite City, Dec. 28-29: Batavia, Marmion;
Wheaton Warrenville South Ewoldt, Dec. 29: Downers Grove North, Waubonsie Valley;
Willowbrook, Dec. 29: East Aurora.